Press Release for Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Nonprofit Management Certificate Course Offered at UNF

The University of North Florida will offer graduate students a new course track in nonprofit management in the fall.

UNF will be kicking off the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management during the fall semester, which will be offered under the Master’s of Public Administration Program. The initial course in the certificate program, Managing Nonprofit Organizations, will look at the environment in which nonprofit organizations operate and the major issues they face.

The certificate program was offered to address a need for well-educated and experienced individuals in nonprofit leadership positions. A 2004 study sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that 64 percent of Duval County nonprofit CEO’s expect to retire in the next five years. Likewise, 64 percent of the CEO’s are over 50 years old.

“The purpose of the graduate program in nonprofit management is to prepare the next generation of nonprofit executives,” said Dr. Patrick Plumlee, director of the Master of Public Administration Program. “The UNF program is designed to give students those upper-level management skills that are required by our area nonprofit CEO’s, allowing them to fill the upcoming vacant positions.”

The graduate certificate requires completion of four graduate courses, consisting of Management of Nonprofit Organizations, Nonprofit Financial Management, Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations and a fourth elective course in human resources, diversity management or program evaluation. The program is expected to take three semesters to complete.

Applicants to the program must have a bachelor’s degree and apply by Friday, Aug. 17. For more information, contact Patrick Plumlee at (904) 620-1928.